issue with my Property Management company fees during covid

[David To]

Okay people, let me get your opinion on this. I have a property management company that I'm with for over a year now. Problem is this:

1) Property 1 (management fee: $150.00 per month)

2) Property 2 (management fee: $125.00 per month)

So tenant on Property 2 hasn't paid anything since April due to covid and I cannot evict due to eviction moratorium.

But my property manager is still collecting rent from tenant on Property 1 and continues to charge me the full $125.00 on Property 2 by taking the money from Property 1.

Is this valid reasoning to you? If tenant on Property 2 isn't paying, then the Property Management company shouldn't be getting any money either (or at the very least, I would pay them a reduced fee of only $50.00 per month or so). Why should I have to bear the burden of the cost and have money taken from Property 1 to pay for Property 2 so that the Property Management company gets their due and I the home owner get left out in the cold?

Let me know your thoughts. Because I didn't realize this was happening until just now and now I'm very mad and thinking of getting rid of this Property Manager at the end of year and finding someone else or doing it myself.

What do you think is fair? What do you think I should do? Get rid of Property Manager?

David To

[Greg Weik]

Hi @David To, have you read your PMA (Property Management Agreement) to see if it specifically states this is allowed?  Usually, a PMA pertains to a single property and the PMA will say whether or not the PM company can charge fees when rent is not being paid. 

Normally, a PMA will state that the management fee is calculated as a flat fee on "rent collected" or a percentage of rent collected. 

@Account Closed, honestly that's kind of BS on your part.  Kicking a client while they're down.  Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.  You know full well that the $125 or so is going to mean a lot more to the client (who still has a mortgage and possibly repairs and turnover to worry about) than it means to your company.  

We have a couple of tenants who also have not paid since about mid-summer, but we are working hand-in-hand with those clients to help them get through this storm.  We are not charging them.